November Election: Time to Reward Friends and Punish Foes in Congress

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Revision as of 17:00, 10 December 2008 by Raffi(talk | contribs)(New page: By Harut Sassounian<br> Publisher, the California Courier<br> July 31, 2008 Last October, when the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Armenian Genocide resolution by a v...)

Last October, when the House Foreign Affairs Committee
approved the Armenian Genocide resolution by a vote of
27-21, Armenians were naturally elated. They had just
defeated the combined forces of the Bush
Administration, the Turkish government and its highly
paid Washington lobbyists.

While Armenian-Americans should be commended for this
important achievement, they seem to have overlooked
that 21 members of Congress had gone on record siding
with the denialist regime in Ankara, opposing a
resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

Just imagine what would have happened if that
resolution had been about the Holocaust and even a
single member of Congress had voted against it!
Justifiably, there would have been nationwide
condemnation of that legislator, who would have been
either pressured to resign or defeated during the next
election! It is simply amazing that 21 members of
Congress would vote against the Armenian Genocide and
not a whimper is heard from the Armenian community and
no action is taken against them.

Another group of House Members whose re-election
should be opposed consists of those who initially
sponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution and then,
under pressure from the Bush Administration and
pro-Turkish lobbyists, withdrew their names from the
list of co-sponsors: Marion Berry (D-AR), Sanford
Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Dan Boren (D-OK), Allen Boyd
(D-FL), Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Henry Cuellar (D-TX),
Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Lincoln Davis (D-TN), Phil
English (R-PA), Wally Herger (R-CA), Tim Holden
(D-PA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Carolyn
Kilpatrick (D-MI), John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (R-NY),
Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Harry
Mitchell (D-AZ), Dennis Moore (D-KS), Mike Ross
(D-AR), David Scott (D-GA), and John Shimkus (R-IL).
There are three others who are not running for
re-election. Another member of this group, Roger
Wicker (R-MS), was appointed to the Senate and should
be opposed as a Senatorial candidate.

The third group that should be opposed in the upcoming
election consists of five House Members who went out
of their way to counter the congressional resolution
on the Armenian Genocide. They gave a joint press
conference last October asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi
not to bring this measure to the House floor for a
vote. They are: Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman John Murtha (D-PA), Alcee Hastings (D-FL),
John Tanner (D-TN), Robert Wexler, D-FL), and Steve
Cohen (D-TN). The ANCA is actively working to defeat
Cong. Cohen in the August 7 primary election and help
elect his Democratic challenger Nikki Tinker, a
supporter of Armenian issues. Cong. Cohen recently
bragged that one of his "biggest accomplishments" in
Congress was opposing the Armenian Genocide
resolution. If Cong. Cohen loses on August 7, this
would send a powerful message to all other House
members that they too could be targeted for defeat,
should they oppose the Armenian resolution! The
ANC-PAC has contributed $5,000 to Tinker’s campaign
and another $23,000 was raised on-line by more than
300 Armenian-Americans. There are only a few days left
before the August 7 primary. To contribute to Tinker’s
campaign, please go to:
www.actblue.com/page/armeniansfornikki.

In addition, I would like to single out the following
congressional races that merit special attention:

Cong. Jane Harman (D-CA) is a unique case. While
keeping her name on the list of co-sponsors of the
Armenian Genocide resolution, she deviously wrote a
secret letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her not
to schedule the measure for a vote. Armenian-Americans
should do everything possible to prevent the
re-election of this dishonest legislator. Another
House member who should be targeted for defeat is
Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), a genocide denialist and a
leading pro-Turkish voice in the House of
Representatives, who constantly refers to her Turkish
son-in-law, Mustafa Ozdemir, in her remarks.

In Ohio, Independent candidate David Krikorian is
trying to unseat Republican incumbent Jean Schmidt who
has been supported by Turkish-Americans nationwide for
her opposition to the Armenian Genocide resolution.
Let’s kill two birds with one stone: Help elect a
young and energetic Armenian-American to Congress,
while defeating an incumbent genocide denialist. To
contribute, please go to:
www.KrikorianforCongress.com. Should Krikorian get
elected, he would be joining two other Armenian
Americans House Members: Cong. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and
Jackie Speier (D-CA) who fully deserve the support of
all Armenian-Americans in their re-election campaign.

Cong. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the co-chair of the
Congressional Caucus for Armenian Issues, has been a
staunch supporter of the Armenian community for the
past 16 years. He is targeted for defeat by the
Democratic Party. We should do everything in our power
to save his seat. Cong. Knollenberg will be coming to
Los Angeles at the end of August to raise much-needed
funds for his re-election. I suggest that as many
Armenians as possible, regardless of party
affiliation, attend the fundraiser and contribute to
his campaign. Armenian-Americans should also support
the other co-chair of the Armenian Caucus, Cong. Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) as well as the main sponsors of the
Armenian Genocide resolution: Adam Schiff (D CA),
George Radanovich (R-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and
Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI). Armenians and their friends
should give their strong backing to Speaker Pelosi
(D-CA), the main driving force behind the Genocide
resolution.

In order to take concrete action against those Members
of Congress who have opposed the Armenian Genocide
resolution, Armenian-Americans should demonstrate in
front of their offices, hold protests at their
fundraisers and press conferences, write critical
articles, place negative ads, and support their
opponents in the upcoming election.

Realizing that incumbents have a high likelihood of
getting re-elected, should the Armenian-American
community succeed in defeating even a single
anti-Armenian member of Congress, the message will go
out loud and clear throughout the halls of Congress
that deniers of the Armenian Genocide risk losing
their jobs. We need to make an example of at least one
of these political scoundrels, so others will not dare
to deny the Genocide, knowing that they would be
paying a heavy price.